Teen, families devastated over accidental shooting

June 05, 2008|By Carlos Sadovi, Tribune reporter

The family ties between Keenan Reno and the 16-year-old charged with killing him in an accidental shooting over the weekend go back decades, when their grandparents were friends living on the same block in the Roseland neighborhood.

Those ties extended to the two boys, who were best friends and seemed inseparable since they were toddlers, relatives said. The boy would spend nearly every day at Reno's home, where Reno's older sister would baby-sit him. The two may have also been involved in gang activity together, both families said.

Now, the families who each thought of the boys as a part of their own are torn as they grapple with the death of the Fenger Academy senior, who would have graduated this month. Reno is the 25th Chicago Public Schools student to be killed this school year.

The alleged shooter, whom the Tribune is not naming because he is a juvenile, was so racked with guilt that he tried to kill himself while in custody, his family said. Juvenile detention officials would not comment on the alleged suicide attempt.

"We go way back. ... I love him, and I'm not mad at [him] -- and my son's not either," said Cynthia Reno, Keenan's mother. "They both did something they had no business doing. No guns were supposed to be in my home."

On Saturday, at least two guns were in Keenan Reno's bedroom in the home in the 11200 block of South Emerald Avenue, authorities said.

Reno, 19, and his friends were gathered as they did nearly every day. Reno was killed after one of the guns handled by the alleged shooter went off, his lawyer Jeremy LaMarche said. The teen was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Reno's family had considered attending a Juvenile Court hearing on Wednesday to ask the judge in the case to allow the teen to be released long enough to serve as a pallbearer in Reno's funeral Friday. They decided against the idea after they heard about the suicide attempt, said Rhonda Yaamen, Reno's sister. "It was an accident, and we also know he's mourning," Yaamen said.

Reno's mother said that when the shooting happened about 3 p.m. Saturday, she was outside of her home visiting a neighbor. When she returned to her home, she saw her son's friends running out.

"I see Keenan laying with a bullet in his head. I put my hand on his chest and I hear a heartbeat ... and I say, 'Keenan, breathe, your momma's right here with you.' He took a deep breath, and I look down and his eyes closed."

Reno said she doesn't know who brought the guns into her home, though she said her son, the other boy and several others on the block may have been involved in gang activity.

They were not affiliated with any established gang, but they defended their block against other teens, she said.

In 2006, Keenan Reno was arrested on drug and battery charges, which were later dismissed, according to court records.

The other boy served a year of probation after he brought a gun to Julian High School in 2007, according to his lawyer and family.

Outside of the 16-year-old's court hearing on Wednesday, the boy's mother and an aunt said they have been in contact with Reno's family since the shooting happened and are devastated.

"He was saying that he wanted to die. He's been in shock like he was a walking mummy," said the boy's aunt. "It just hit him."